Steven Weber, Jonathan Cake & More Join Matthew Broderick in The Philanthropist
Steven Weber, Jonathan Cake and Anna Madeley will join previously announced star Matthew Broderick in Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Christopher Hampton’s The Philanthropist. Previews start at the American Airlines Theatre on April 10, with the official opening set for April 26. The limited-engagement run closes June 28, directed by David Grindley.
Co-starring with Broderick are Cake as Braham, Madeley as Celia and Weber as Don. The cast also includes Tate Ellington Dog Sees God at SoHo Playhouse, Jennifer Mudge Naked Angels’ Fault Lines, Rattlestick Theatre’s The Geometry of Fire and Samantha Soule Dinner at Eight and Coram Boy, both on Broadway; The Voysey Inheritance at Atlantic Theater Company.
Written as a response to Molière's The Misanthrope, Hampton’s wicked comedy examines the empty, insular lives of college intellectuals. At the center of the story is Philip Broderick, a professor who seems almost absurdly removed from the political turmoil surrounding him, including the assassination of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1970. The next year, it debuted on Broadway, starring Alec McCowen, Ed Zimmerman and Carolyn Lagerfelt, and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In 2005, the Donmar Warehouse mounted its own production, directed by Grindley.
After making his New York stage debut opposite Geraldine Page in the Mirror Repertory Company’s Paradise Lost, Weber made his first Broadway appearance in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, before taking over for Matthew Broderick as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ The Producers. He recently co-starred with Kevin Spacey and Mary Stuart Masterson in National Anthems at the Old Vic Theatre in London. His TV credits include: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Desperation, Reefer Madness and 12 Days of Christmas, Once and Again, Betrayed by Love, In the Company of Darkness and Wings, in which he played Brian Hackett from 1990 to 1997. His film credits include Timecode 2000, Club Land which he also wrote and produced, Leaving Las Vegas, Single White Female, At First Sight, Jeffrey, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
Cake previously appeared on Broadway in Lincoln Center’s Cymbeline as well as in the 2002 Tony Award-nominated production of Medea, which he also played in at BAM and in London’s West End. His London theatre include the Royal National Theatre production of Baby Doll, Coriolanus at Shakespeare’s Globe, and productions at the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Co. Off-Broadway he’s appeared in Jez Butterworth’s Parlour Song and Ethan Coen’s Almost an Evening at the Atlantic. Regionally he’s performed in Doubt at Pasadena Playhouse. His UK television work includes Ricky Gervais’ Extras, A Dance to the Music of Time, The Government Inspector, Mosley, Old Lizard and Eddie Izzard’s Cows. His U.S. TV credits: Six Degrees, Empire, Inconceivable and Out of the Ashes. On film, he’s appeared in First Knight, True Blue, Honest, The One and Only, and Brideshead Revisited.
Madeley’s theatre credits include: Contractions, Ladybird Royal Court; Coram Boy Royal National Theatre, The Philanthropist, The Cosmonauts Last Message Donmar; Colder Than Here Soho Theatre, The Rivals Bristol Old Vic, Roman Actor, The Malcontent, Love In A Wood, A Russian In The Woods, Madness in Valencia, The Merry Wives of Windsor Royal Shakespeare Company / West End. Her film work includes: Brideshead Revisited, In Burges, Stoned, Circular File, Guest House Paridiso, Wonderful World and Back Home. On TV, she’s appeared in Crooked House BBC4, Marple – A Pocket of Rye ITV, The Children Tightrope, Waking the Dead, Sense and Sensibility and Lewis BBC.
The Philanthropist’s design team will include Tim Shortall sets, Tobin Ost costumes, Rick Fisher lights and Gregory Clarke sound.
